What happened to the dream?

I watch my 3 year old grandson and it reminds me of my childhood. It's funny how we forget about our youth as the years roll by. As he plays with his action figures you can just see him becoming batman in his mind or imagining he is really flying his toy helicopter.

We all start out life full of hopes and dreams. When we are young we have a grand vision of our future and the drive that nothing will stop us from meeting our goals. But as we mature we watch the failure around us and we finish school and the reality of life hits us head on. Bills, relationships, children, and the cost of continuing education all become road blocks to our success. For most of us they turn into the excuses that help us justify missing out on our dreams of success.

For most people as time passes our dreams become fond memories of our childhood instead of a future goal. People are quick to trade in their hopes and dreams for mediocre.

Where we really reaching for something that was so far out of reach that it was impossible to obtain? For most of us the answer is NO. Dreaming of being the leader or obtaining riches is not out of reach of any body in our society. In this country we can be what we want and we have unlimited earning potential. Still most of us reach adult hood and quit trying. Several years ago I spent a year as a volunteer and committee chairperson on the Special Olympics. As we got closer to the games I watched the athletes, some severely handicapped expend everything in them to compete and win. This just demonstrates how anyone in our society can succeed if they go out and give it everything.

We can blame our education system, our years of being a nation of plenty and a number of other things but the truth is we can only blame ourselves for not setting a goal and making it critical that we continue until we reach that goal. Since most of us don't learn how to invest money, we aren't taught about the stock market or to seek multiple forms of income we must teach ourselves. These are all techniques used by the rich. The concept of multiplex income, residual income and networks are what allow them to enjoy success. Many people I speak to think of multiplex income and multiple streams of income as being some form of scam this is why they never obtain wealth. The scam is that you can become wealthy or even comfortable getting paid by the hour in a job. Most people really understand that but they just don't know any other way to pay the bills.

Our continuing education and the education of our young must start at home. We are also taught little on goal setting and follow-through. Follow through to our public school system is finishing your homework and attending class regularly. Don't these teachings sound more like good habits then goals? A far cry from what we will need to succeed in the world beyond school.

Since our schools don't teach these techniques we need to make a conscious effort to teach them to ourselves and our children. There are a number of great self help books, CD's and DVD designed to teach us just those habits. A quick visit to Amazon.com or your local book store will show you just how many authors are dedicated to bringing us to the next level. This is one of my favorite quotes that I learned in my early 30's

"Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve." W. Clement Stone.

The dreamer inside us is never lost, it just lay dormant waiting to be awoken. Before you look for that dream job, start a business, or reach for that higher position take a few days to teach yourself the habits of successful people. Above all never stop trying or dreaming. You can only fail when you have exhausted all possibilities and stopped trying.